


We Could Live Near The Beach

by 1r1d35c3nc3



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King, a combination of both movies and the book oops
Genre: F/M, Fluff then Angst then Fluff again, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, alternate universe where pennywise first tormets them as adults cuz... why not, tags will get updated as i continue to write
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-24 05:35:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20700788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1r1d35c3nc3/pseuds/1r1d35c3nc3
Summary: Nearing their 13th year of marriage, Richie tozier and Eddie Kaspbrak have lived fairly normal and happy lives. Staying in touch with the losers club and living together, both having jobs they enjoy (somewhat) and being able to spend as much time together as they want, what could go wrong?A fuckload, apparently.





	1. Monday, June 12th, 2016; 6:00 A.M

City mornings are never as nice as they show in movies, no waking up to gentle yet chipper birdsongs as you serenely watch the sunrise from your penthouse window, the quiet of the world’s wake unsullied by the noise of humans.

No, it was nothing like that at all.

For Richie Tozier, city mornings are the cacophonies of buses screeching and the stampeding herds of people and cars alike commuting in the foggy streets of LA. Every single noise pollution mixes into an irritating orchestra of sleep deprivation and stress. The most annoying of all, Richie thought to himself as he fumbled in his dimly lit bedroom, only illuminated by the faint rays of the sun through solid gray curtains and the fluorescent lights coming from the bottom of the bathroom door, was his husband’s new, and ever so ear splitting, alarm clock. 

Blaring an incessant beat loud enough to spook the crows roosting on nearby, and certainly loud enough to burst Richie’s poor, tired eardrums. Over the violent he could hear the shower running from behind the closed bathroom door, and tried to call over the noise as he reaches to turn off that damned alarm.

“BABE!”, the man adjusted his glasses, blinking at the bright red numbers; 5:16 am.

“YEA, RICH?” 

“YOU FORGOT TO TURN OFF YOUR ALARM AGAIN!”

“IT'S YOUR ALARM TOO, LAZY ASS! GET UP ALREADY!”

Richie sighed obnoxiously as Ed’s retort, but a smile still twitched at his lips. The love of his life for over 27 years and married for coming up 6 years, Eddie Kaspbrak was always a morning person, and always trying to get him to get up and about early, even though he didn’t have to get up until 10. He appreciated the gesture some days, when neither had work or airins to run and they could snuggle up together and stay in the warm bed for a few hours, and then go on a quick jog before it got too hot, then getting a coffee and some breakfast at the nearby cafe if they were too tired to cook ( _ Eddie complained about eating out, but never refused the food even as he preached about the countless illnesses you could get from restaurants. _ ) On other days, such as this Monday morning, after a night of staying up late writing shitty new potential skits for his show, the morning alarm was more of a curse than a blessing.

Finally gaining the strength to slam his hand down on the alarm and pull himself out of bed, he yawned as he absentmindedly scratched at his belly from under his, frankly quite sweaty pajama shirt. Lumbering over to the bathroom door, he pushed it open and squinted at the bright light, his tired eyes taking a moment to adjust to the sudden change. Eddie was standing in front of the sink mirror with a towel wrapped around his waist as he combed his hair, with about 7 different hair products lined up on the counter. 

“Finally Rich, you were supposed to be up….” he paused to look at the ticking wall clock, “17 minutes ago!” Eddie exclaimed, exasperated as usual. “Well,  _ sorry _ spaghetti, it’s just that  _ somebody _ had to keep me up all night!” Eddie looked at him with a deadpan expression, knowing too well what would come next if he didn’t find a way to shut Richie up. He looked his lover up and down, affectionately noticing his tousled bed hair and adorable sleepy face, and looking at his sweaty shirt in disdain. 

“God, Rich, why are you drenched? That's honestly disgusting, take that shirt off and throw it in the laundry hamper already.” “Aw babe,” Richie cooed as he lazily pulled his shirt off, “I can't help it when you’re just so hot in the bedroom.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Eddie in the mirror suggestively, before wrapping his arms around his husband’s waist, pulling himself flush against his back. Eddie scoffed at the comment and placed his unoccupied hand over Richie's, fingers gliding over the gold band that he also sported on his ring finger. 

“Hey asshole, it's not my fault you’re practically a walking sauna, we need to get a better A/C unit in the bedroom.”

“Sounds like a brilliant plan, Eds my dear.” 

Richie smiled into his lover’s ear and kissed his check, nuzzled his face into Eddie’s neck, tickling the shorter man. Eddie bristled and pulled away from Richie, walking out into their bedroom and reaching for his freshly ironed clothes hanging up the closet. “Aw, come on Rich, you know i’m busy today, I have that meeting at 10, and i’m meeting Bev for lunch too.. Why don’t you go make yourself useful and pour me a cup of coffee?” Richie put on a face and bowed, “Of course, my good sire, one mug of steaming, delicious coffee coming right up!” He walked into the kitchen backwards, flourishing his hand as he exited their bedroom. Eddie rolled his eyes for probably the 5th time this morning already, and reminded himself to poke fun at Rich about that little act soon. 

Humming to himself in the kitchen, Richie turned on lights and opened the curtains, letting the natural light in. He was honestly living the best life he could imagine. He had a job that was fun and paid well, had a perfect, loving husband, a close group of friends, and a nice apartment. He couldn’t think of anything going anything wrong, but then again, he seemed to get into trouble at the drop of a hat. Nothing serious, but enough to get him an earful from Eddie, which he didn’t even mind. Eddie was cute when he was angry, just like he was cute when he was sleepy, and laughing, and babbling, and -his lovey dovey thoughts were halted by the coffee maker, beeps signaling that the brew was finished, hazelnut, Eddie’s favorite. 

Eddie preferred his coffee with no sugar and a splash of creamer, while Richie liked some coffee with his sugar, buying the extra sweet coffee grounds much to Eddie’s dismay, who worried that he would get health problems from all that artificial sweetener. Richie just smiled at him and would just say, “Don’t worry Eddie Spaghetti, i'm not gonna leave you anytime soon.” Eddie would punch his shoulder and tell him not to call him that, but it reassured him all the same. 

Placing the steaming mug of coffee on the counter, he tossed some whole wheat slices, another one of Eddie’s favorites, into the toaster and poured himself some coffee as he pondered what he should eat for breakfast. Eddie had to leave for work at 6:30, and it was 5:53, so he figured he had enough time to cook him something more than just toast. His Eddie Spaghetti does deserve the best after all, even though he annoys the shit out of him with all these healthy alternatives and specific recipes. Putting some turkey bacon and free range eggs into a frying pan, he watched them sizzle quietly as he reminisced back on the first day that Richie had been allowed to sleep over at Eddie’s house, back in Derry. 

* * *

It was March 7th, 1994, the day after Eddie’s 15th birthday; Richie had been granted permission by Mrs.K herself to be able to have a sleepover with Eddie. With sleep blurred eyes, Richie watched in quiet awe as he watched Mrs.K practically cook a feast for her son, all with fresh ingredient she picked herself. Vegetable omelette, a tall glass of whole milk, fresh squeezed orange juice and whole wheat toast with sugar free strawberry jam. Accompanied by a few slices of turkey bacon, she presented the plate to her son with a strange smile, saying, “Now, Eddie-bear don’t forget that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Don’t go running outside before you eat a healthy breakfast, you might get sick and faint, and we don’t want that. Oh, and don’t let me forget your morning pills, i’ll go get them right now.” She left the kitchen, leaving Eddie blushing red at the nickname and Eddie laughing silently as he got up to serve himself. Eddie apparently wasn’t allowed to touch the stove, for risks of burns or all sorts of other dangerous things, like gas poisoning. 

“Wow Eds, do you really get to eat like a fucking king everyday? Most days I forget to even throw a damn pop tart into the toaster.” Richie teased, pilling scrambled eggs onto his plate as he looked in Eddie’s direction. “How many times do I have to say don’t call me that, dipshit?” He hissed, but looked down at the towering plate of food and his face softened. “Anyway, you should appreciate all the work she puts into it. She’s just making sure I don't get sick, or sicker at least. You should really try to eat a full breakfast too, maybe then you wouldn’t be tripping on your own feet like a bumbling idiot all the time.” 

The breakfast itself wasn’t a particularly important or milestone worthy memory, but it was one of the first times Richie had seen Eddie so domestic, especially after their first sleepover. Richie secretly wished that he could eat breakfast like this with Eds all the time, maybe even try to make it himself. This was only the beginning of when Richie’s crush started becoming noticeable, and it only got worse from there.

* * *

Lost in memories, Richie didn’t even notice that he was burning the bacon until smoke began to waft towards his face and fogged up his glasses. “Oh, _ fuck- _ ”, he started, quickly taking off his glasses to hastily clean them in his shirt.

“Richie? What the hell are you doing in there?”

“Oh, nothing sweetheart! Absolutely nothing.” 

“Why do i smell smoke?! Oh my god, is our apartment  **ON FIRE?** !”

Eddie ran into the kitchen, form blurry in richie’s eyes from lack of glasses, and as he saw the smoke rising from the pan, he went into panic mode. “Oh my god Richie what the fuck, what the fuck. What the actual fuck, i am going to have a literal fucking panic attack!! Why is everything on fire oh god, there's smoke everywhere i'm gonna get smoke in my lungs and we’re gonna get fucking lung cancer oh god-”

By the time Eddie had finished his intense panicky spiel, Richie had already thrown baking soda ( _ Eddie told him that baking soda worked better on grease fires than water _ ) all over the pot, then poured the charred remains into the garbage can. The room was still tinged with grey, the fire alarm finally began beeping AFTER the fire had gone out, and now Eddie was looking at Richie with an “oh my god you piece of shit i am going to kill you” kind of look. 

“Calm down, Kaspbrak! Really, its ok, i fixed it, don’t worry your tight little ass about it anymore, your hero Richie Tozier has come to save the day.” Richie tried to joke it off, to lighten the mood. Getting Eddie even more stressed before work was never a good thing, and Eddie already looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel.

“Oh. My. Fucking. God. Tozier, our asses could have been toast,  **LITERALLY.** Do you know how many people are injured in house fires in a year? Do you know how many people die?! We could have _ died, _ richie, for fucks sake, can’t you be more careful?!” He sounded angry, but deep down he was worried and anxious and afraid, just like how he was when he was younger. Richie slid his glasses back on and grinned that classic smile, the one that said, “I know you’re upset, but i’m your favorite person in the world so I know you’ll let it slide.” He walked over to eddie and slung an arm over his shoulder before pressing their foreheads together. “Cmon, Eds, can’t you trust me enough to know I'd never do anything to hurt you? And even if we did die from the fire, im sure your ghostly ass would bicker with me about it till the end of time.”

Eddie made a face that was as close to a pout that he would allow himself, and hid his face in Richie’s shoulder. “Well, you’re right about the ghost thing, but don’t ever try something like that again, dumbass.” The ‘I can’t afford to lose you’ hung silently at the end, but they both heard it the same. Despite their constant bickering and insults thrown at each other, they couldn’t bear to think of life without the other. Attached at the hip, forever and ever, just how they liked it. Even if it was spent arguing half the time. 

“Now,” Richie claps his hands and Eddie jumps slightly at the sudden noise, “I’ve got a kitchen to clean up and you’ve got some coffee, toast and some probably burnt eggs to eat. You don’t want to be late for work, do ya Eddie?” 

Eddie nodded slowly, suspicious at Richie’s offer to clean up. Maybe for once he was taking responsibility for his actions and actually cleaning something, god forbid. He sat down at their small table by the window and drank his coffee, and while watching Richie fumble around with their towels and wipes as he tried to air out the room, he couldn’t help but smile. This was going to be one interesting day, he thought to himself. 


	2. Monday, June 12th, 2016; 10:17 A.M

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since i havent stated it yet, this is an AU where the loser's club met in highschool in derry and never fought pennywise as teens. ben and bev have been married for 19 years, ben is 41, bev is 40, richie is 40 and eddie is 39. they old... also stan will hopefully be introduced next chapter, and ill probs be introducing mike and bill last.

The Hanscom-Marsh household was large, but still cozy, full of pictures of smiling faces and various knick knacks from across the years. Ben tried not to flaunt his money, but he also always wanted Beverly to have the best, because that's what she deserves. After 23 years of being able to love bev, and being married for 19 of them, Ben would always put her first, after the loser’s club of course. Being able to wake up next to her every morning, cook her breakfast, and kiss her goodbye as she goes to work once seemed like an impossible dream, back when they first met that summer of 1990. 

Unfortunately, this one morning, his dreams of last night weren’t as amazing as that summer, it was more like a nightmare. Ben had stayed up last night eating ice cream, it was on sale and bev said they deserved a treat before the week began, so maybe his bad dream was from that. He still couldn’t shake the bad feeling though, it clung to his memories like a sticky film and hung over him like a towering mass, shadowing him and all his surroundings. “Alright, no more midnight ice cream then,” Ben whispered to himself as he sat up in bed, stretching as he tried to wake his body up from sleep. 

The hands on the clock told him it was around 10:30, and beverly has to go into work around 10, and also had that lunch date with eddie at 1 o’clock. Bev was sure to be grumpy from staying up so late last night, so Ben, being the lovely husband he was, decided to get up early at make them some brunch, with strawberry pancakes. Ben looked over to his wife’s sleeping form, sprawled on her belly, hair a fiery halo around her head, mouth open and snoring slightly. He could help but let a lovestricken smile split across his face, leaning over to kiss her forehead and wiping the drool from her face with a tissue from their bed-side table. Bev mumbled in her sleep and shuffled around, she wouldn't be up for another hour since she tended to sleep in. Hopefully brunch would still be warm by the time she woke up, he thought to himself fondly, heading into the bathroom to clean himself up. 

The sun shone through the sheer kitchen curtains, illuminating Beverly’s standing form in a golden glow. Wearing her pantsuit for work and hair still damp from her shower, she stretched her arms over her head and yawned loudly, padding over in her socks to hug Ben from behind, who was leaning over the counter and dozing off as he basked in the sunlight. Two plates of strawberry pancakes were laid out on the table, with homemade strawberry milk to match. Bev laughed and put her hands over Bens, “Good morning, honey,” she smiled into his ear, “Did you make my favorite pancakes just for little ole me?” 

“Maybe I did,” he leaned down to kiss her softly, smiling. “How did you sleep, bevy?” 

“Great, but you know I did actually have a strange dream…” thoughtful confusion clouded her features. Ben stiffened, did Bev somehow have the same dream as him? He paled, not wanting Bev to have experience the nightmares he had to last night. Or maybe, they both just had bad dreams from the ice cream. Clearing his throat, he asked, “oh, is that so? What did you dream about?”

“....A clown.”

“A clown?”

“Well, not really a clown. More like a mime, one you would see on the side of the road, pretending to be stuck in a box, ya’ know?”

Ben silently breathed a sigh of relief. Ok, so it wasn’t the same dream, nothing weird was going on. “So, you dreamt about a mime, huh?”, He encouraged Bev to continue, always eager to listen to her. She sat down at their bar counter and leaned forward, resting her head on her hands. “It was… really strange. He stood in front of a big circus, and made me follow him inside. But… the circus was empty, except for, I don't know, seven? Circus tents. And you know what the really weird part was?” Ben hummed in reply.

“Each circus tent had everyone’s names on them. One said bill, another said Eddie, everyone, right? isn’t that weird? Is this some sort of weird prophetic dream? Should i, i don’t know, call everyone?” She chewed on her lip, picking up her glass of strawberry milk to take a sip. 

“I don’t know, bev..” Ben answered honestly, “It does sound super weird, but it was probably just another dream. No need to go calling all out friends and causing a panic. But you know what's strange too? I also had a weird dream last night, more of a.. A nightmare really.” Bev turned around to look at him, a half -eaten pancake sticking from her mouth, she beckoned with her eyes to continue. 

Ben swallowed at sat down opposite of bev, idly tapping his fork against his still full plate of pancakes. The memories of the nightmare were making him lose his appetite. “I don’t know how to explain it, I was a teenager again, and back in derry, right? In our old highschool, were we met everyone, but… the halls were dark and empty, and I could hear children laughing. Bev’s nose scrunched up in disgust, “Creepy. What else happened?” 

“Well, i tried to get out of the school, but all the doors were locked, so I just wandered around. All the windows glowed red and orange and stuff, like there was a fine outside,” Ben’s eyebrows furrowed, pausing before he continued. “Then, i saw you, and you were a teenager again too! But, you had glowing orangey eyes, and were smiling at me all creepy. You were walking backwards into the open cafeteria doors, which led into like, a void, or something. You stopped once I caught up to you, and you told me “The best is yet to come, Egg boy. Then, you fell backwards into the void and i woke up, and I swore I could smell smoke.”

Ben looked up to meet Bev’s eyes, and they were sympathetic as she reached over to clasp her hand around his. “That sounds like it sucked, Ben. But, it was just a dream, so I wouldn't worry about it, okay? We both had wacky dreams, but we’re okay and that's all that matters.” She smiled at him, a small but genuine smile, and pecked his check. Ben smiled, and his worries dissipated somewhat, the presence of Beverly always had a calming effect on him. “Now,” she said, getting up and putting her empty dishes in the sink, “I have to go finish getting ready for work, I have new pattern swatches coming to the office that i have to choose from for this next line. Boring, but it's better than overseeing the new guys, I guess.” She pulled Ben into a tight hug, and then walked into their bedroom to put on her shoes. 

Ben realized he didn’t finish his food, and his pancakes were already cold. Sighing, he threw them into the trash and went to the sink to wash their dishes. From the window, Ben could spot a flyer hanging from the lamp post a few houses down. He squinted, trying to read the words on the page. “**THE CIRCUS OF PENNYWISE THE DANCING CLOWN!**” it announced, and in bold, red text below it said. “**COMING SOON, TO A PLACE NEAR YOU!**” Ben chuckled to himself and went back to cleaning the dishes, not thinking much of it, and would soon forget as he continued into the day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more plot, you mean an entire chapter of benverly fluff because i love them and they deserve the world? yes. talk to me about it on tumblr @weild :3c

**Author's Note:**

> oh my god I sat down to write some quick cuddly fluff and this spewed out, jesus. I have a faint idea of where im going with this (I have the next 3 chapters mapped out already oops) so if you like it, please leave a comment or something! thanks <3


End file.
